Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL: Dualism
by AkashicStorm
Summary: AU. The Numbers are a reflection of their owner's hearts. One hundred Numbers reflect many hearts. Their holders struggle as they try and solve the mysteries surrounding the Numbers while facing their own darkness.
1. Chapter 1: Awakening

A lone figure stood on a narrow path, surrounded on both sides by a seemingly endless abyss. Ahead of him was a demonic looking door. It was wrapped in chains and had an evil face engraved into it with huge pointed teeth and large, menacing eyes. But the figure did not falter.

Their eyes were locked not on the door, but the glow coming from behind it. He simply couldn't go around the door, there were high walls surrounding it that would be impossible to climb. Even if he did attempt it, the likely result would be falling and plummeting into the surrounding abyss. But the glowing light behind the door was so tantalizing, he couldn't help but walk forward.

As he approached it, a voice spoke to him. He'd heard it before. It came from the door; it was a rumbling voice that no human could accurately reproduce. But he continued to move forward, determined to finally get to the light on the other side of the door.

_"If you open this door, you will obtain great power."_

That light, whatever it was, would give him what he wanted. The countless dreams he'd had of this moment, where he'd walk towards the door only to have the ground fall away before he could open it flooded into his mind. Not this time. He would finally open this door and gain what he desired most.

_"…But you will lose what you value most."_

The figure paused briefly. He called to mind what it was he valued most. He chuckled to himself when he realized what it was. His dreams were about to come true.

_"If you accept these conditions, open the door and obtain your new power."_

A with a confident smirk the figure gripped the strange golden object in his hand tighter. He was directly in front of the door now, staring at a hole in the door which appeared to be the only possible place he could insert the key. He slammed his fist, still clutching the golden object, into the hole. Immediately the chains on the door shattered and the door flew open, a strong gust of wind almost knocking him over. A blinding light was now shining through the open doorway, so the figure shielded his eyes and pressed forward.

He'd finally mustered the courage to open the door. Nothing would stop him. Well, he thought that much until he was suddenly surrounded by blackness. He blinked rapidly and clawed at the empty air, but nothing was there. Then, just as suddenly as he was plunged into the blackness, what looked like a sphere of blank cards surrounded him. He reached out to touch one, and when he did, the sphere shattered into one hundred fragments of light which flew off into the darkness.

It had been pure coincidence that Walker Travers had looked out his window when he did. It was very late at night - or early in the morning, depending on how you looked at it. It was 1:28 AM to be exact, on a school night no less. He'd told his himself he'd be off the computer in twenty minutes. That had been had been about… three hours ago now? He had just kept telling himself ten more minutes and then he'd get off. So much for that. He'd been watching a match involving one of his favorite duelists who had unfortunately gotten into an accident, and after watching one match he couldn't help but watch another. That had gotten him into the mood to work on his deck and he was now looking up cards that could he could use to make his deck better.

His room was plastered with posters of duelists and duel monsters alike, dominating a huge portion of the wall next to his bed. He loved watching the pros play and dreamed to one day play alongside them. He worked on his deck a lot and he felt that he was getting close to his ideal build. A build that would take him to the top. He knew many others who shared his dream and even though the chance of going pro was small, he wasn't going to give up hope.

He stood up and stretched, then turned off his computer monitor. As he turned towards his bed, something outside his window caught his eye. Curiosity got the better of him and he walked over to the window, peered down onto the front lawn and saw a glowing white object lying in the grass. His curiosity piqued, Walker exited his room and tip-toed down downstairs and out the front door.

It was a little chilly outside, but overall it didn't bother him. He stood perfectly still for a few moments while his vision adjusted to the darkness. When he was satisfied with how much he could see, he moved out onto the lawn and immediately stepped on a rock. Grimacing at the realization that he hadn't even put on his shoes, Walker pressed onwards and was standing over the white object in a matter of seconds. He squinted slightly. It looked like… a blank card?

He bent down to pick it up; curious as to how one of these would have fallen past his window. The second he picked up the card he felt a rush of energy surge through him. He gasped as before his very eyes, the card starting to fill out. A black border appeared first, and then the picture slowly came into being. A mix of terror and interest gripped him as strange glyphs appeared on the card in golden lettering.

Once the card had filled out completely, the rush of energy disappeared. His lack of sleep and the sudden loss of energy caused Walker to fall onto the grass. He was asleep before he hit the ground.

_The next morning…_

"Walker, wake up!"

The boy with chestnut brown hair was roused from his sleep and shot up with the last thing he remembered being him falling down on the lawn. But he wasn't on the lawn. He was in his bed. It was just a regular day; his Mom was calling him down for school. He chalked the memory up to actually being a dream.

He slipped into his usual school uniform, a white t-shirt and some blue jeans. In addition to that he slid a pale yellow device onto his arm and then moved towards his mirror. Grabbing a comb off of his dresser, he ran it through his hair a few times to straighten it. When he went to put it back, he noticed that a blade of grass was clinging to the comb. He stared at it for a second before shaking his head and proceeded to go downstairs.

"Oh good, you're up. Here, eat this. I have to run so I didn't have time to make you a proper breakfast. Love you." Walker's Mom said once he reached the first floor of the house. She was actually on par with the seventeen year old boy in terms of height, maybe even a little shorter. She had curly auburn hair and placed a clementine in the boys hand before walking out the door.

"Love you too." Walker called after her as his mother slammed the door shut. "Well, she was in a rush." Walker muttered as he started to peel the orange, moving into the adjacent kitchen and sitting down in one of the chairs.

"Yeah, she had an early meeting or something like that."

Walker's eyes drifted back towards the staircase, his older sister Kayla jumping down the last few steps and into his line of sight. She had long, chestnut brown hair and was dressed for leisure; similar to how he had been dressed the previous night.

"Morning." Walker said, not really bothering to make small talk.

"Morning indeed. So what exactly were you doing out on the lawn last night? I pull into the driveway and just see you sleeping there. I thought you died or something." Kayla asked.

"I couldn't tell you if I tried." Walker replied, briefly wondering what exactly happened to the now not-blank card he'd picked up. But it was early and a school day, he just didn't have the energy or the drive to come up with some elaborate excuse to give his sister on why he was out there.

"Just remember you owe me one now. Mom and Dad would've flipped if they'd been the ones to find you." Kayla sighed, moving into the living room and switching on the television

"Yeah, sure. Anyway I gotta head out now. Adios." Walker said absently, tossing out his orange peel and moving towards the front door. He grabbed his schoolbag which he always left in the hallway and threw open the door. His sister shouted good-bye from the living room and Walker was out the door not a second later.

His school wasn't a very far walk from his house, thankfully. But as he walked he felt a strange tingling sensation overcome his body. He turned to look behind him and saw a rather menacing looking man walking towards him. The man had short, spiked up dark purple hair and wore a black t-shirt with the sleeves ripped off and a pair of dark blue jeans. Slightly intimidated, Walker continued on.

But despite how far he went, the tingling sensation continued. Whenever he glanced back, the purple haired man was still advancing towards him. To shake the fear that he was being followed, Walker slipped into an alley and ran to the other end. When he turned back, the man was jogging behind him. Nervous now, Walker jogged the rest of the way to school, his stamina running out just as he entered the schoolyard. His school was a large white rectangular building with three floors. He followed the cobblestone path that was lined with trees towards the large cobblestone circle that was in front of the school. It was a spot where kids went to meet and duel before classes began.

"Good morning!"

"Morning." Walker panted, turning to face a girl who was slightly shorter than him with long golden hair that she kept in a ponytail. His mind eased a little. It was just his classmate, Alycia and not some intimidating guy who had stalked him all the way to school.

"How are you?" She asked as the two walked slowly towards the door.

"I'm… fine, I s'pose. How are you-" Walker froze when he felt a heavy hand clamp down on his shoulder. He gulped and turned his head. He saw a dark t-shirt and wisps of purple hair, and fear began to well up inside him.

Alycia noticed Walker wasn't keeping pace, and turned just in time to see the purple haired man spin her friend around. Other students began to murmur among themselves and point in their direction.

The tingling sensation was back now, and stronger than ever. The man raised the back of his fist towards the teenager boy and a bright yellow 17 appeared on it. The sensation pulsed through his body again. Terrified, and confused he continued to stare at the man, who after a few moments lowered his fist and raised his other arm, which had a light purple duel disk on it.

"Is… everything okay?" Alycia asked quietly.

"I… I don't know…" Walker whispered.

"You don't have to accept his challenge if you don't want to…" Alycia reassured him.

"No. He has to." The man stated. For the first time, Walker made eye contact with the man and the two held each other's gaze for several seconds. Walker gulped, but slowly he raised his arm. "He knows he does." The man added, his eyes flashing.

He was right. Something deep down was telling him that this confrontation had to happen. Sliding a small eyepiece out of his pocket, he slid it over his right eye and backed up a few paces from his opponent. The man nodded and did the same while sliding on his own D-Gazer.

"D-Gazer, set!" The two called, their eyepieces flashing in unison.

All at once bits of data began to spiral around them and up into the air, registering the area around them. His opponent flashed brightly, the D-Gazer locking him in as the opponent.

_"AR Vision link complete."_ A computerized voice announced.

"Duel!" The two shouted in unison.

**[Walker: 4000 / Gunther: 4000]**

A quick look at the duel screen revealed that his opponents name was Gunther. Walker stayed still, forfeiting the first move to his opponent.

"I'll set one monster face-down, then set one card face-down and pass it off to you." Gunther said, two reversed cards appearing in front of him.

"Draw." Walker began. "I summon Constellar Algiedi, who lets me special summon one level four Constellar monster when she's normal summoned. So now I'll special summon Constellar Acubens."

A tall, thin female knight clad in white-and-silver armor holding a small silver wand appeared on the field, a light blue cape flowing behind her. [ATK: 1600] Algiedi raised her staff and a portal of yellow light formed next to her. From it emerged the hulking figure of Constellar Acubes, who wore similarly colored armor. Acubes snapped the two golden crab-like claws at the end of its arms and took its place next to Algiedi. [ATK: 800] The arrival of Acubes was followed by a golden aura surrounding both Algiedi and Acubens, energizing the two Constellar monsters. [ATK: 1600 - 2100] [ATK: 800 - 1300]

"When Acubens is normal or special summoned, all my Constellar monsters gain 500 extra attack points." Walker explained. "Now, Algiedi! Attack his set monster!"

Algiedi pointed her staff towards the reversed card and a beam of light shot towards it, piercing the card and briefly revealing the form of a pink-and-white mermaid before the monster was destroyed.

"Acubens, attack him directly!" Walker commanded.

Acubens charged forward and slashed a claw across Gunther's chest, the purple haired man wincing slightly as the monster did so.

**[Walker: 4000 / Gunther: 2700]**

"Is that all?" Gunther asked, a smile playing on his lips.

"No, actually. I'm going to overlay my level four Constellar Algiedi and my level four Constellar Acubes." Walker smirked. The two monsters became orbs of golden light, which spiraled high into the sky. "I will create an overlay network with these two monsters! The alignment of the stars brings forth a new champion, give your comrades the power to chase away the darkness! Xyz summon! Descend, Constellar Praesepe!"

A red portal appeared in the middle of the field and the two spiraling lights nose-dived into it. The portal erupted with energy and from that portal emerged Constellar Praesepe with two golden orbs orbiting its body. The monster was tall and covered in white and golden armor, a golden claw in place of one of its hand. A red cape fluttered behind the Xyz monster while the golden device on its back gave off a radiant glow. [ATK: 2400, OLU: 2]

"That's the end of my turn." Walker finished.

"Hehe… this where the fun starts!" Gunther laughed, drawing a card. "I summon Mermail Abysspike!"

A merman with long, golden hair and a lower half that resembled a pike rose up from the ground. The creature pounded one of its palms with a gauntlet-covered fist. [ATK: 1600]

"When Abysspike is normal or special summoned, I can discard one water monster in my hand to add one level three or lower water monster from my deck to my hand. I'll discard Mermail Abyssgunde to add another Abyssgunde to my hand." Gunther explained.

The moment he slotted Abyssgunde into his graveyard however, a light began to shine from that portion of the duel disk. "If Abyssgunde is discarded from my hand and sent to the graveyard, I can special summon one Mermail monster from my graveyard." The man smirked. "My previous monster never got the chance to give you a proper hello. Come back, Mermail Abysshilde!"

A dark-colored portal formed next to Abysspike and from it rose a mermaid with long, braided orange hair. The mermaid wore a pink shirt and helmet and its lower body was that of a white fish. [ATK: 1300]

"But I'm not finished yet! I activate the spell card Surface! Now I can special summon one level three or lower fish, sea serpent or aqua-type monster from my graveyard in face-up defense position. Return to the field, Mermail Abyssgunde!" The purple haired man laughed.

A portal identical to the one Abysshilde emerged from appeared on the opposite side of Abysspike, and from it emerged another mermaid. This one had short, dark brown haired and wore a black scarf. The lower half of this mermaid resembled a clown fish in color. [ATK: 1400]

"Now… I'm going to crush you with my power! I overlay my level three Abysshilde with my level three Abyssgunde!" Gunther smirked; the two monsters becoming spheres of light blue energy which flew up into the air. Much to the surprise of the onlookers, who had increased in number by this point, this Xyz summon was different. In place of the usual red portal was a larger one that resembled… a galaxy?

"I will create an overlay network with these two monsters! Titan of the waters, show these fools the unrelenting fury of the ocean! Xyz summon! Come, Number 17: Leviathan Dragon!" Gunther roared.

From this new portal emerged a long purple snake-like dragon whose body was orbited by two dark blue spheres of energy. The dragon spread its six wings and shrieked loudly, the number seventeen shone brightly on one of the grey horns on the side of the dragon's head. This caused the 17 on the back of Gunther's hand to glow even brighter. [ATK: 2000, OLU: 2]

All at once the tingling sensation overpowered Walker's body. This monster was that had caused him to feel so uneasy, this is what had beckoned him to accept Gunther's challenge. Walker licked his lips and focused on the creature, a small information screen appearing next to him so he could learn what he was about to go up against. But to his dismay, the writing was all in foreign characters that he couldn't understand. Whatever he was about to face, he was going in blind.

"Let me show you Number 17's power! By detaching one overlay unit, I can increase its attack by 500 points." Gunther explained. Number 17 roared and snatched one of the orbs orbiting its body out of the air, devouring it whole. [ATK: 2000 - 2500, OLU: 2 - 1]

"I still have two more cards to play. First, I'll use the spell card Aqua Jet to give Abysspike an extra 1000 attack points." Gunther began. A strange apparatus composed of two orange fans connected by a small white device attached itself to the back of Abysspike, greatly augmenting the sea creature's strength. [ATK: 1600 - 2600]

"Then, I activate the field spell Umiiruka! This grants all water monsters 500 extra attack points at the cost of 400 defense points." Gunther explained. The ground beneath the duelists disappeared, being replaced by an ocean that appeared to stretch onwards endlessly. Walker glanced towards the large white building that was his school which now stood out from the water, it slowly faded from view so that all around them was endless ocean.

He was brought back to reality by the cries of Number 17 and Abysspike. Number 17 floated above the surface of the water, while the merman treaded water easily. [ATK: 2500 - 3000, OLU: 1] [ATK: 2600 - 3100]

"Number 17, destroy his weak monster! Vice Stream!" Gunther commanded. Leviathan Dragon roared, rearing its head back and forming a mass of light blue energy inside of its mouth.

"I activate the effect of Constellar Praesepe! Once per turn during the damage step, I can detach one overlay unit to give a Constellar monster an extra 1000 attack points!" Walker countered.

One of the orbs orbiting Constellar Praesepe flew into the device on its back, and the Constellar monster became shrouded in a golden aura. [ATK: 2400 - 3400, OLU: 2 - 1] Leviathan Dragon launched its head forward and unleashed a stream of energy which flew towards the Constellar monster. The Xyz monster showed no fear and charged into the beam, its aura protecting it from any damage. When the attack subsided, Praesepe was directly in front of the Number monster and with a vicious punch it knocked its foe into the ocean below.

**[Walker: 4000 / Gunther: 2300]**

Walker was proud of this triumph, but the tingling sensation hadn't subsided. To his horror, Number 17 emerged from the water, looking as powerful as ever. Praesepe hadn't been able to destroy it.

"A Number monster can only be destroyed in battle by another Number monster." Gunther explained.

"Do you have a Number?" Alycia asked from the sidelines.

"No, I don't." Walker admitted.

"Hey, I'm not done over here. Your little trick may have stopped my dragon, but I have a trick of my own." Gunther continued as one of his trap cards rose up. "I activate Abyss-scorn. Just like your effect, it gives my Abysspike an extra 1000 attack points until the end phase. See? No matter how much you power up, I can always make myself stronger than you!"

A dark blue aura surrounded the merman as he grinned maliciously at Praesepe. The monsters muscles seemed to grow larger and the sea around them seemed to grow a little rougher. [ATK: 3100 - 4100]

"You said your effect can only be used once per turn, so there's no way your monster is going to survive this attack! Abysspike, destroy it! Depth Strike!" Gunther commanded, pointing towards the Constellar monster.

Abysspike disappeared below the waves for a moment before using the apparatus Aqua Jet had given it to rocket out of the water towards Praesepe. With its fist outstretched, it slammed into the opposing monster and smashed right through its torso. Abysspike hit the water disappeared below waves again while the Xyz monster exploded behind it.

**[Walker: 3300 / Gunther: 2300]**

"Your move." Gunther finished as Abysspike resurfaced in front of him. [ATK: 4100 - 3100]

Walker observed the field and then his hand. He had no way to get past Number 17, because he didn't have a Number monster of his own. He shut his eyes and clenched his fist. Why did he have to give into some gut feeling to fight this guy? He could just give up right now and have this be over with. His body felt strange and just wanted this sensation to go away. Slowly, he moved his hand over his deck.

_Not yet._

Walker glanced around, but all around him was just sea and bystanders. What had-

_Believe. Don't give up yet._

"But I don't-"

_Believe._

Walker placed his hand on top of his deck and nodded. He drew for his turn and smirked, raising four cards up high. "Sacred knights of the stars, come to my aid! Siat! Aldebaran! Leonis! Pollux!" Walker called, throwing the four monsters on to his duel disk.

"Whoa - Slow down there, kid. FOUR monsters all in one go?" Gunther said, taken aback by the sudden shift in the boy's attitude when he had distressed just a moment ago.

"When you control a monster and I don't, I can special summon Constellar Siat from my hand. Then I normal summoned Constellar Aldebaran who lets me special summon a level three or lower Constellar monster, like Constellar Leonis, from my hand. Leonis lets me normal summon another Constellar monster, so that was I was able to summon Pollux." Walker explained.

One by one the Constellar monsters appeared, each in their own flash of radiant light. Constellar Siat was the first, being a small knight in white armor that had a look of fierce determination in his eyes. [ATK: 100] The large frame of Constellar Aldebaran came next. He was tall, with two grey horns protruding from his head and was holding a large ring of red energy in one hand. [ATK: 1300] Leonis followed seconds later, wearing armor similar to that of his comrades. Leonis had slicked back light blue hair, and a small beam of light blue energy extended from each of Leonis' fingertips, giving the illusion that he had claws. [ATK: 1000] Finally came Constellar Pollux, the knight wielding a sword with two blades. Pollux's body was completely white on one side, but white-and-gold on the other. Oddly enough, the warrior-type monster only had one horn on one side of its head. [ATK: 1700]

"Now I'll overlay my level three Constellar Aldebaran and my level three Constellar Leonis!" Walker began as another red portal appeared in front of him. "I will create an overlay network with these two light monsters! The alignment of the stars calls forth the light of justice, now use it force your foes into submission! Xyz summon! Descend, Constellar Hyades!"

A white-and-gold armored knight leapt out from the portal and hovered above the surface of the water. It had golden bull horns and held onto two large blades, each having a large red energy ring for a handle. [ATK: 1900, OLU 2]

"Next, I activate the effect of Constellar Siat. I can have its level become the same level as a Constellar monster on my field or in my graveyard. I'll have it become level four, the same level as Pollux." Walker explained, clenching his fist. He felt energy well up inside him and knew that this was the beginning of his counter-attack.

"Two level four monsters… but you can't bring out anything that can beat my Leviathan Dragon, can you?" Gunther sneered.

"Let's see, shall we? I overlay the level four Siat with the level four Pollux!" Walker called, raising his arm up into the air. The onlookers gasped as a galaxy-styled portal once again appeared in the middle of the field. "I will create an overlay network with these two monsters! Victory through camaraderie, bask your allies in your radiance and lead us to a bright future! Xyz summon! Come forth, Number 39: Utopia!"

As Utopia rose from the portal, Walker felt a surge of energy overtake his body. He looked at the back of his hand and saw a red 39 form on it. His body pulsing with energy, he looked up to see the monster that had answered his call. Utopia looked remarkably similar to some of the Constellar monsters. It wore white-and-gold armor and had a bright red 39 on one of its shoulders. It had a set of white mechanical wings and held a large, grey sword in its hand. [ATK: 2500, OLU: 2]

"Yes! This is what I've been waiting for!" Gunther laughed, grinning madly.

Leviathan Dragon shrieked at the new monster as the 17 on Gunther's hand glowed even brighter. Utopia roared out a challenge to the water monster and the two Numbers faced each other. Walker stared at his new monster and heard its voice yet again.

_Vanquish it._

Walker grinned. That would be a piece of cake. "I activate the effect of Constellar Hyades! By detaching one overlay unit, all your monsters are changed to face-up defense position! Shining Submission!" Walker shouted. Hyades raised both to its weapons over its head and moved them together so their tips were touching. An overlay unit flew between the two weapons and began to glow more and more intensely. [ATK: 1900, OLU: 2 - 1]

The two opposing monsters winced and covered their eyes, Abysspike being the first to fall to the force of the light and switch to defense mode; unfortunately thanks to the nature of the field spell its defenses were weaker than usual. [DEF: 800 - 400] The Numbers monster held out longer, but eventually it too folded its wings over its eyes. [DEF: 0]

"You focused so much on offense that you sacrificed all of your defense. Constellar Hyades attack Mermail Abysspike!" Walker shouted. Hyades charged towards Gunther's monster and pierced it with its weapons, the merman grunting in pain before shattering.

"Now… Utopia! Destroy Leviathan Dragon!" Walker commanded. Utopia flew forward and raised its sword high into the air. Leviathan Dragon attempted to counter-attack with a blast of energy, but the warrior-type monster sliced through the oncoming attack with ease. Before Leviathan Dragon could launch another attack, Utopia sliced the dragon across its chest. Number 17 gave one last shriek before its hologram exploded, the number on Gunther's hand disappearing as the remnants of the hologram disappeared.

"I set one card face-down and end my turn." Walker finished. He felt more energy course through him now that Number 17 was gone and the thought that he had been about to surrender moments earlier seemed so silly to him now.

"It's… not over. I still have an ace to play." Gunther growled, picking up a card from his deck. "By discarding two waters monster in my hand, I can special summon Mermail Abyssmegalo!" Gunther roared.

The upper torso of a humanoid red-and-white shark appeared from underneath the water. Its armor was gold and silver, and the tip of its curved weapon could be seen piercing the surface of the water. [ATK: 2400 - 2900]

"Now, Abyssmegalo's effect activates. When it's summoned this way, I can add one 'Abyss' spell or trap card from my deck to hand. But that's not all, oh no, since I discarded Abyssgunde I get to special summon a monster from the graveyard. I think I'll bring back the other Abyssmegalo that I discarded." Gunther smirked as he added a card to his hand. Next to the first Abyssmegalo an identical copy of it appeared with its fangs bared and weapon at the ready. [ATK: 2400 - 2900]

Walker quickly brought up an information screen for both Utopia and Abyssmegalo. Utopia's screen showed the same strange writing that Leviathan Dragon had, but to his surprise he could now understand it. He learned that Utopia could negate an attack by detaching an overlay unit and that Abyssmegalo could tribute one water monster to allow it to attack twice each battle phase. A smirk crossed his face. He could block both attacks, switch them to defense mode, then get rid of them just like he had with Gunther's other monsters.

"Get ready! I overlay my two level seven Mermail Abyssmegalo!" Gunther called, shattering Walker's concentration. A level seven Xyz monster?! This wasn't good, not one bit. Thankfully, the portal that appeared was the usual red one and not another galaxy-styled portal.

"With these two water monsters, I'll create an overlay network! Ruler of the ocean depths, rise to the surface and drown the world with your power! Xyz summon! Surge, Mermail Abyssgaios!" Gunther roared, raising one of his fists into the air.

The portal disappeared and for a moment nothing happened. Then, a whirlpool began to form. It grew larger and larger, and the clouds over head grew dark. A head of grey-brown hair emerged from the water, followed by a torso wearing deep blue armor. Then came two burly arms and a serpent like lower half. The new monster roared and lightning began to fall from above. Raising one hand into the air a golden trident formed which the new monster grasped. The whirlpool disappeared, but the seas remained rough as the two light monsters faced off against Abyssgaios. [ATK: 2800 - 3300, OLU: 2]

"Then I'll equip Abyssgaios with Abysscale of the Kraken. It gives him 400 more attack points and I can send it to the graveyard to negate the activation of a monster's effect." Gunther explained. A set of white-and-gold armor, which was vaguely similar that of the Constellar monsters, formed on Abyssgaios's chest, taking the place of the deep blue armor it had previously. [ATK: 3300 - 3700, OLU: 2]

"So you're still focusing on attack points? It's pointless, without a Number monster, you won't be able to destroy Utopia no matter how strong your monster is." Walker smirked.

"Wrong! Abyssgaios has two effects. One is that while he has an overlay unit, level five or higher monsters cannot attack. Not much use right now. But the other one…" Gunther grinned wildly. "This'll be the one that does you in. During either of our turns, I can detach one overlay unit to negate the effects of all monsters you control with an attack lower than Abyssgaios' until the end phase."

Abyssgaios roared and raised its trident; one of the two overlay units orbiting it being absorbed into the weapon. Immediately a huge tidal wave formed and surged towards Utopia and Hyades, consuming and drenching the two light monsters. After a few moments the two monsters resurfaced, drenched but in one piece. [ATK: 3700, OLU: 2 - 1]

"Still think boosting my attack points was pointless? With its effect now negated, Abyssgaios can destroy Utopia just like any other monster! Go, attack with Tyrant's Trident!" Gunther commanded.

Abyssgaios roared and launched its trident towards Utopia, spearing the warrior who fell into the raging sea. Walker held out hope that Utopia would somehow resurface but as the 39 on his hand disappeared, the energy and confidence he had slowly began to leave his body.

**[Walker: 2100 / Gunther: 2300]**

"Your move." Gunther finished.

Even though the courage his Number had given him was starting to leave him, Walker was determined to face the storm ahead. He drew his card and smiled. "I activate the effect of Constellar Hyades, detaching one overlay unit to change Abyssgaios to defense position." Walker started.

"I'll send Abysscale to the graveyard to negate the effect. I can see through your plans kid, why else would I have taken this card?" Gunther countered. The last orb of light orbiting Hyades flew towards Abyssgaios and was absorbed by the armor, which shattered after absorbing it. Abyssgaios' regular deep blue armor returned in the absence of the equip spell. [ATK: 1900, OLU: 1 - 0] [ATK: 3700 - 3300, OLU: 1]

"I summon another Constellar Aldebaran." Walker continued. Another silver bull-like knight appeared next to Hyades. Sadly, with no other cards in Walker's hand he was unable to use its effect call out another ally. [ATK: 1300] "Now, let me show you another power the Constellars have. Constellar Hyades, Xyz Change into Constellar Ptolemy Messier 7!" Walker shouted.

A red portal appeared in the center of the field and the audience gasped as Hyades jumped into it. The portal became a bright yellow, and from it emerged a white-and-golden mechanical dragon with two dark blue wings trimmed with gold. What sounded like bells heralded its arrival and it let out a roar which caused a section of the clouds above it and Aldebaran to part and allow sunlight to shine down on them. [ATK: 2700, OLU: 1]

"How did you Xyz summon using an Xyz monster?" Gunther demanded.

"I can Xyz summon Messier 7 by making any Constellar Xyz monster an overlay unit of Messier 7. In addition to that, any overlay that monster had also become overlay units for Messier 7." Walker explained.

"Tch!" Gunther brought up an information screen on Messier 7 and smiled. "Ha! You can't use its effect the turn you summon it that way. You messed up and next turn Abyssgaios will destroy your new toy." The Mermail duelist laughed.

"Aldebaran attack his Abyssgaios!" Walker announced.

"What? Why?" Alycia cried.

"You'll see." Walker whispered.

"Do you WANT to lose? Whatever, go ahead!" Gunther laughed. "Gaios, counter attack!"

As Aldebaran charged towards Abyssgaios with its fist outstretched, Walker silently tapped a button on his duel disk. Abyssgaios readied another trident and speared the Constellar monster, shattering it into shimmering stars.

**[Walker: 100 / Gunther: 2300]**

"I fail to see what that accomplished." Gunther scoffed. "Utopia is as good as mine."

Walker was momentarily confused by the last part of his purple haired opponent's statement, but he shook it off. In response, he just nodded towards the card he had activated during Aldebaran's charge: Constellar Meteor. As Gunther read it, his face paled.

"A monster that isn't destroyed by battle with a Constellar monster is returned to the deck at the end of the damage step…." Gunther repeated quietly.

The shimmering stars from when Aldebaran was destroyed began to glow brighter and grow larger. They began to connect to one other, becoming a huge orb of light which fully engulfed Abyssgaios. Once the water monster was completely enveloped, the orb shot into the sky and the dark clouds dispersed completely. The sea calmed and Gunther was left defenseless.

"It's over. Messier 7, attack him directly! Fiat Lux!" Walker declared. Messier 7 roared and a pillar of light shot down from above, striking and consuming Gunther and sending small waves in every direction.

**[Walker: 100 / Gunther: 0]**

Gunther fell onto his back as a horn sounded and a small screen with a picture of Walker appeared declaring him the winner. The AR Vision disengaged and Messier 7 and the surrounding ocean all disappearing as the regular school courtyard returned. Walker took a deep breath and exhaled, returning his D-Gazer to his pocket and de-activating his duel disk.

But he wasn't done. He strolled over to his downed opponent to see a card had ejected itself from the graveyard. It was Number 17: Leviathan Dragon. He bent down and picked up the card, something inside of him urging him to take it as a prize for his victory. The monster having ejected itself from Gunther's graveyard was a form of confirmation that this was what he was supposed to do. His eyes turned from the card to his opponent as they began to stir.

Gunther shook his head and stood up, groaning loudly. He looked at Walker and his eyes widened. Without even attempting to contest Walker taking his card the purple haired man scrambled to his feet and took off running and was soon out of their sight.

"What was that all about?" Alycia asked, moving to stand next to the brown-haired boy.

"I'm… not entirely sure." Walker admitted. "So- Hey, weren't there a bunch of people watching?" Walker asked, looking around and seeing the courtyard deserted aside from the two of them.

"Oh… the bell rang after you summoned Messier 7. Everyone went to class, but you were so into the duel you didn't seem to notice. I stayed behind to tell you that we're about to be late." Alycia giggled.

Walker smacked his forehead as he realized that the bells he heard when Messier 7 had been summoned weren't heralding the mighty creature's arrival, but instead telling him to hurry up and get to class. "Well… let's get a move on, then! Better late than never." Walker smiled, starting to walk towards the large white building that was his school.

_Those cards…_ _Something about them seems off..._ Alycia thought, glancing down towards her own duel disk. A call from Walker brought her back to reality and the blonde-haired girl ran forward to match pace with Walker, the two engaging in friendly chit-chat as they got ready for a day at school.

* * *

Sooo, here we are. Probably not gonna finish my other story, I just don't have the drive to. Sorry. =I

So this is just something I've been playing around with that I finally decided to post. It's AU, so no Yuma and such. That's just how I prefer to do things. Plus it gives me more leeway with things. There will be custom cards, but I'll try and keep those to a minimum. I don't have much else to say, so hopefully you enjoyed it and if you didn't maybe you could tell me what I could've done better.


	2. Chapter 2: One Degree of Separation

**Chapter 2: One Degree of Separation**

Walker felt like he was full of energy after that duel. His classmates were curious about who it was he had played against and what exactly a 'Number' monster was and how they could one or if they could trade him for his- All things he didn't have good answers to, except for the last one. He absolutely was not going to trade away those Numbers cards.

His class was boring. He was supposed to be learning mathematics, but he just couldn't focus on it. He wanted to duel. More than anything he wanted to go up against more Numbers monsters and add them to his collection.

_How many are there? Fifty? One hundred?_ Walker wondered as he absently chewed on the end of his pen. He turned his attention away from his teacher's lecture to the view outside the window. The city loomed nearby, and Walker believed it harbored more people with those 'Number' monsters. The weekend was coming up. Maybe he'd go down there and see if he could play against any strong duelists, maybe they'd even have a Numbers monster. Even if he didn't find them, maybe they'd find him. Just like Gunther had. With any luck it would end the same way. But whether he found them or they found him, all he knew was the more of them he beat, the better duelist he'd be and the better duelist he was, the closer he'd be to achieving his dream.

_Somewhere in the city…_

**[Shawn: 900 / Terrance: 100]**

Cornered in an alleyway, another duelist faced a situation similar to the one that Walker had just been in. He'd been followed down the street and turned into an alley to confirm that he was, in fact, being followed. When his pursuer had followed him into the alley, Shawn turned on him and the two engaged in a duel. Apparently it had gotten around that Shawn had rare cards and this guy wanted to make them his own. Even though his opponent looked like he was fairly well off, he apparently wasn't above getting his hands dirty to get his hands on some rare cards.

Shawn was wearing an open dark grey jacket over a white shirt and blue jeans. He had a blue hat that pushed the tips of his raven colored hair into his eyes. He seemed a little sad, and it would be clear to see why. His field was barren, having just been ravaged by his opponent's Heavy Storm in combination with the Tyrant Dragon that now loomed over him. Added onto that, Shawn had no cards in his hand either.

The brown dragon was so large that its hologram had appeared outside of the alleyway just so it could maintain its impressive size. It had just devoured the monsters that had been on Shawn's field and was eagerly waiting for the order to finish him off. [ATK: 2900]

The dragon's master stood with his arms folded over his chest at the end of the alley. He was dressed in a nice, sky blue t-shirt and black jeans. He had curly blonde hair and stared at Shawn with an amused expression.

"I must admit, you made some impressive plays but you exhausted all of your resources too early. Now that you've lost your field, this duel is as good as mine. What could you possibly draw that could save you? Dark Hole? I have another monster in my hand. Monster Reborn? All of your monsters are too weak." Terrance sneered. "Your rare cards will soon be in better hands."

"Weak…" Shawn repeated quietly. "My monsters are weak, you say?"

"I mean, aside from the rare ones. I can't even fathom some of the card choices you've made." Terrance said with an exasperated sigh. "Please, just go on with your turn."

"Weak…" Shawn said quietly. "They are weak…"

Terrence was taken aback. Whenever he told someone their cards were weak they would argue that every card has a use. But for him to be so accepting of his monsters weaknesses... he could he have something planned?

"What are going on about?" He asked.

"Be crushed by that weakness…" Shawn said as he slid a card into his duel disk.

A galaxy-styled portal appeared behind Shawn and Terrance took a step back.

"What… what are you doing?" He demanded.

A gigantic figure emerged from the portal, roaring loudly and slowly advancing towards Terrance. The duelist looked up in shock and awe as the monster advanced on him, destroying his dragon with ease. But that wasn't the end of it. With the dragon out of the way, it turned on Terrance.

A scream sounded from the alley as Terrance flew backwards on to the sidewalk, thankfully not rolling into the street. People stopped and looked at him and then peered into the alley. Shawn began walking forward and Terrance got to his feet as quickly as he could before limping off. Shawn didn't follow him, he simply continued on the way he'd been going before, ignoring the people who called after him.

_Elsewhere…_

A muscular man was sitting in a cubicle at his desk. He was in his mid-twenties and had very short, blond hair. He was dressed in white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up as he tapped away at his keyboard. Immediately a new notification popped up and he frowned. Another 'defect' card had been played.

_Another one? How many of these things are there…_ He wondered. Regardless, he stood up and was about to walk out when he noticed that the person he'd been going to see had come to him. It was a woman with pearl white hair who wore regular glasses with rectangular frames. She wore a bright pink blouse and dark grey pants.

"I guess you saw the notification?" He asked.

"Yep. Looks like there are a lot more of these than we thought." The woman sighed. "I don't understand how these cards got into circulation early. Moreover, there haven't been any duplicates."

"Maybe they were meant to be tournament prizes?" The man guessed.

"Maybe…" The woman sighed. "Come on Cal, we have to go report it."

Calvin, or Cal as he preferred to be called, nodded and then began to stroll down the office corridor.

"So, Naomi, the one problem with your tournament card theory… Remember the one I found? There's no set number, no artist, no record of its printing, nothing. It's like the card just showed up out of thin air." Cal mumbled. "Also, they're keeping it real quiet. We're the only two working on this, aren't we?"

"They don't want people to know they messed up, simple as that. Also, you know you'll have to give that card back at some point." Naomi sighed.

"But until I use it, they won't know I have it, and we can keep trying to figure out this little mystery. It makes my job easier too. Let's hurry, I got a lot of work I need to get done." Cal said, his smile disappearing.

"You've been working a lot harder than usual recently. Is everything alright?" Naomi asked, raising one eyebrow.

Cal looked unhappy. "No more goofing off. Let's go."

He picked up his pace while Naomi looked after him. She caught up to him as they passed by the break room, where a lone person was watching a televised duel. As she passed by, Naomi took a moment to stop and watch before Cal called for her to hurry up.

As she walked away, she heard the lone person in the room cheer as apparently something great had happened. Naomi gave a deep sigh, but couldn't complain. She was on the clock after all.

_Elsewhere…_

The crowd erupted into thunderous applause as one duelist slunk out of the arena with his head down while the other waved to the crowds. He looked to be in his late teens, with forest green hair and a bright green jacket over a dark brown sweater with a white scarf. The crowd continued to applaud him as he exited the arena with a huge smile on his face.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Oliver Daniels has just pulled off an incredible victory against Bryson Hurst! Not to mention that it was with an entirely new deck! That gives his team an early 1-0 lead, but that doesn't mean this match is decided yet! Will Felix Hayes be able to bring this match to a speedy conclusion? Or will Andrea Lowes be able to bring her team back from the edge?" The announcer boomed.

Oliver walked out into the hallway connecting to the stadium where his teammate Felix was waiting for him. Felix was tall and thin with spiky black hair. He wore an open dark brown blazer over a dark red shirt. He gave his teammate a small smile upon seeing him.

They played in a professional level team league with teams maxing out at three players and one alternate. They'd chosen to play in this league in an effort to combat bad days or bad opening hands that could ruin someone in regular tournaments. With three players, even if one player got destroyed in their match their teammates still had a chance to come back and win it.

"Impressive. You played well, even with a new deck. Why didn't you tell me about the change?" Felix asked.

Oliver shrugged. "People were getting tired of my old deck. They wanted to see something new, so they got something new."

"Well, since you won it's fine. But if you'd lost…" Felix trailed off and Oliver nodded, knowing what he meant to say.

"You wanna grab an early dinner or something after you win? We don't have another match scheduled today." Oliver asked.

Felix shook his head. "No, I'm going down to the hospital. Claire woke up."

Oliver's eyes widened. Felix had told him about Claire many times. She was a friend of his who'd been trying to get in to the Pro Circuit and had garnered an impressive series of wins. Oliver had also started trying to break into the pro scene around that time as well and knew that she was a strong duelist. But unfortunately she was in an accident that left her in a coma. As it happened the day before a match, foul play was suspected but with no proof there was nothing that could be done. That had been six months ago, before Oliver was even on Felix's team. He'd only been asked to join up with him four months prior, along with their third team member, Megan.

Megan had started to lose interest in the game however, and was only staying around until a replacement could be found. With her dwindling interest, Oliver and Felix tried even harder to win their games out of fear that Megan might not take her match as seriously.

"Alright. I'll see if Megan wants to go or something. I'd ask you to give her my regards, but she wouldn't even know who I am." Oliver laughed.

"She might. You were both up-and-comers around the same time, weren't you?" He asked.

Oliver shrugged. "I guess, but I never got the same attention she did. Either way, glad to hear she's doing better."

Felix smiled and opened his mouth to say something when the announcer's voice sounded outside.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are now ready to present to you the next competing duelists! Will Felix Hayes and Andrea Lowes please come out to the dueling field?"

Felix's smile fell a little. "Looks like I'm up. Good job today, I'll talk to you later."

Oliver nodded and clapped Felix on the shoulder before continuing down the hallway while Felix stepped out on to the field to the cheers of the audience.

He stepped into the backroom where a woman with short, curly light brown hair sat on the couch. She was dressed in bright yellow and was chewing on a piece of chocolate as she watched the large television that took up most of the wall. The room consisted of three couches around a glass table and a large television that hung on the wall, displaying what was going on in the stadium. There were also plants in the corners, just to give the room some more color.

The girl on the couch was Megan, their third player. She was watching the start of Felix's match when she noticed him come in.

"Heya. Great job, neat deck too." She said with a smile.

Oliver smiled back. "Thanks." He took a seat on a vacant couch and watched along with Megan as Felix dominated the field with his usual plays.

"He's really good," Megan noted "I'm glad I don't have to go up against him."

"So am I." Oliver nodded. At that moment he felt the phone in his pocket start vibrating. A scowl crossed his face as he took a guess at who it was. He politely excused himself and stepped out into the hallway so he didn't disturb his teammate. With one last sigh he lifted the phone up to his ear.

"Did you win?" A gruff voice demanded.

"Yes." Oliver replied.

"I'm telling you Oliver, cut and run. You're banking everything on a card game, one that's inherently luck based. I was fine when you had this as a hobby, but now that you've dropped out of college to pursue it full ti-"

It was his Dad, about to go on his usual rant about how he didn't approve of Oliver's choices in life.

"Dad! I can do this! I'm good at what I do! I'm winning my matches!" Oliver protested.

"Are you the best?" His Dad demanded.

"No, but-"

"Not being the best isn't good enough, Oliver! Name last year's third place team. Go on." His Dad challenged.

Put on the spot Oliver went silent as he racked his brain for the information, but nothing came to him. As he was formulating an appropriate reply, his Dad began speaking again.

"Oliver, I'm just worried about your future. One day this bubble of yours is going to burst and what will you have to show for it? Sure you may have some money to tide you over, but you'd have no college-level education and no years of job experience. I know I wouldn't hire someone whose resume only said 'Professional Card Game Player'." His Dad explained.

"You just don't understand…" Oliver groaned.

"I should say that I don't. Please, just keep in mind what I keep telling you. I have to go now, please take care of yourself." His Dad said. Oliver mumbled out a good-bye before hanging up. Every few weeks his Dad would call him up and remind him that he didn't agree with his life choices. But what the hell did he know? He loved playing this game. He'd taken a huge risk in trying to go get on the professional circuit, but it'd paid off. It'd be worth it. He'd make it worth it, he'd make an even bigger name for himself. After all, if he were to be taken off the circuit after all this…

He chewed on a fingernail to try and distract himself from those thoughts. Losing wasn't an option, not now. He went back into the room just as the announcer was declaring that Felix had won.

Felix had a small smile on his face as the audience cheered for him. He strode across the field and offered his hand to his opponent. She wrinkled her nose but then as if remembering that she was being televised, forced a smile and accept his handshake.

"Good game." He said.

"Your deck is stupid." She said quietly enough that only he could hear her, still wearing the fake smile.

Felix didn't reply as his opponent broke off the handshake and walked out of the arena. That wasn't an uncommon response. But this was the deck he chose to play. The words agitated him, but slinging an insult back wouldn't do him any good. Besides, with Claire recovering he was overflowing with happiness.

He left the field with his head held high as the announcer started announcing the pairing for the next round.

As he made his way towards the exit of the stadium, he thought back to the night that he had heard about Claire's accident. He remembered the helplessness of not being able to help her, the anger that this had happened, and the fear that he'd never see her again. But with any luck he could squash those feelings and they could go back to the way things had been before. He stepped out into the outside air and took a deep breath.

The sun was shining, it was just the right temperature, there was a refreshing breeze and the clouds in the sky were white and fluffy. It was a good day. No, it was a great day. A victory and a reunion with an old friend.

"Hmm?"

The wind was carrying something. A glowing playing card. The wind was carrying it towards him and curious as to why a blank playing card would just be floating around, he plucked it out of the air.

_Elsewhere…_

A girl in her late teens with long, curly pale blonde hair stared out her window with a blank expression. She was sitting up in a hospital bed, not being able to leave yet. Neither the thought of going home or the thought of leaving excited her. It just wasn't there.

But whether she wanted to or not, she'd have to leave at some point. There was someone she had to see and she doubted that they'd come to see her. Oh well, staying here for the time was fine. It's not like she was disturbed here much anyway. Her family was probably on their way to see her, but until she'd just enjoy the quiet. There wasn't anything else to do to pass the time.

Her eyes widened. Her deck. Her eyes quickly scanned the room, but of course she didn't find it. Where was it? Surely her family had it. With any luck, they would bring it to her. She wanted to duel. Staying or leaving, it wouldn't matter as long as she could duel.

"It's good to see you're awake."

The girl turned to see an older looking nurse standing in her doorway with a smile on her face.

"The janitor was cleaning the halls so I decided to open the window and air out the room a little bit. Next thing I know your eyes are open. I guess the fresh air did you some good. With any luck soon you won't be enjoying it from a hospital bed." The nurse continued to smile, but the girl just stared at her blankly.

The nurse's smile dropped a little as the girl turned away and stared out the open window. Yes, with any luck she would leave soon.

She was sure there were more opponents out there than in here.

_Elsewhere…_

A man with long, slicked-back silver hair turned away from his window as he heard the elevator ding. He was dressed in a fancy grey suit with matching pants and had an air of confidence about him. A small golden card on his desk proclaimed him to be Roy Causser, CEO of Industrial illusions in Heartland. With Industrial Illusions being such a large company, having more than a single office became a necessity after Duel Monsters became the worldwide phenomenon it was now. It just so happened that one such office was made in Heartland.

He was in a large office. Long couches faced a table, and the sides of the walls were lined with fully stocked bookshelves. The back wall of his office was, in fact, simply a large window that overlooked a good portion of the city. He stood behind an impressive looking wooden desk which faced towards an elevator that was now open, revealing the two people inside.

The first to walk out of the elevator was a male wearing a long-sleeved crimson shirt with black sleeves and black carpenter pants. He had short, dirty blond hair and dark blue eyes. The girl followed after him, wearing a dark purple skirt and shirt along with black, fingerless gloves. She had pale blue hair tied into two pigtails by red ribbons. As they stepped into the office the male broke out into a huge smile.

"Nice place." He grinned.

"Zeke Michaels. Caitlyn Vaan. My name is Roy Causser, it's nice to finally meet you both. Please, take a seat." The man said, gesturing to the couches as he took a seat on one while the duo sat opposite to him on the other couch.

The man's smile faded. "I'll cut to the chase, I need strong duelists. Sure, I could have asked a pro or someone similar… but for this I need someone more outside of the public eye." He explained.

"Why's that?" Zeke asked.

"Simply put, I need you to 'collect' cards from people." He said, adding in air quotes around the word collect. Zeke's smile grew larger and Caitlyn giggled.

"So, you want us to 'collect' cards, huh? What if they resist?" Caitlyn asked.

"Listen. Some cards that weren't meant to get out have gotten out. I can't issue a recall for these cards, because they were never technically printed. Even if I did, those who have them wouldn't give them to me." He explained. He gestured out his window towards the city. "Those cards pose a danger to the general public. That's why I need you to help me gather them. You both already have one, do you not?"

Their eyes widened and they exchanged glances. "How'd you know?"

"This issue is serious. I've gone as far as accessing the records of cards played to find out who has played the cards I need. You two were on the list and matched the criteria I was looking for." He explained.

"So… do you want them back?" Caitlyn asked hesitantly.

Causser shook his head. "No. In order to collect these cards, you need to have one yourself. It sounds insane, but trust me. Once you battle against another Number, you'll understand."

"So you need us to collect these counterfeit cards by any means necessary?" Zeke asked.

"They're not counterfeit. It's difficult to explain but you've heard of the legendary Jack Atlas, correct?" The two nodded. "It's similar to his Red Nova Dragon. It was never created by us, but it still existed. One could say Mr. Atlas willed that card into existence. These cards are much closer to something like that than mere counterfeits."

"We… willed them into existence?" Caitlyn asked. "But I never wanted this card!"

"I don't claim to know the inner workings of these cards." Causser shrugged. "I do know that they need to be collected though. Like some special cases before them, playing these cards can have real world consequences."

"…So you're trusting the likes of us to get them for you?" Zeke laughed. Caitlyn giggled again and a small smile crossed Causser's face.

"I've made it clear I know your past and that your past is part of why I've brought you here. I know that you're both reckless, but you're both extremely capable duelists. Not only that," He leaned formed and rested his elbows on the table "but I know you're not stupid. With the resources at my disposal, there's little I can't do for you. I need you to collect ninety-seven Number cards, as between us we already have three. Name your prices."

"A billion dollars." Zeke smirked.

"No."The CEO responded flatly.

Caitlyn seemed to be taking the offer more seriously. She rested her chin on her hand and swung one leg back and forth as she contemplated what she wanted. "I'd… like to not have to worry about money again. I'll settle for a more reasonable sum than him though." She said, jabbing her thumb at Zeke.

Causser nodded and went over to his desk, retrieving a piece of paper and a pen from his desk. He wrote something on the paper, folded it and then returned to his spot on the couch. "I've written down an offer that I feel is very fair, you're free to try to negotiate it but I won't go higher than that." He explained as he slid the piece of paper across the table.

Caitlyn grabbed it and unfolded it, her eyes widening. Zeke craned his neck to try and see, but she turned it away so he couldn't see. "Well, I'm on board." She said as she slid the folded piece of paper into her pocket.

The man smiled. "Excellent." He turned his attention to Zeke. "Well Mr. Michaels, are you ready to make a serious offer?"

Zeke nodded and leaned forward, a grin on his face. "You want me to collect these cards, right? People probably aren't going to give them up without a duel. That's why you need strong duelists, right? Well strong duelists need strong decks." He began, Causser nodding every step of the way while giving Zeke a questioning look.

"What I want is access to all cards, past, present, and future." He finished, folding his arms over his chest.

Causser tented his fingers and considered this for a minute. "…I can't do that. There are simply some cards even I can't get my hands on. My counter-offer is that anytime during this task you can ask me for cards, and I'll do my absolute best to get them to you."

Zeke seemed to be considering this. "Will I still get them after I do this? If she doesn't want to worry about money, I don't want to worry about cards."

Causser thought about it for a moment and then nodded.

"Then you've got yourself a deal." Zeke grinned.  
The CEO smiled and got up, grabbing two business cards off of his desk and scribbling something down on the back of them. He walked back to the duo and handed the cards to the two of them.

"Very good. Ms. Vaan, you'll receive a portion of your money soon and the rest upon completion. Mr. Michaels, feel free to connect to me with any of your card requests. Here is my contact information. Also, I must warn both of you." He frowned deeply. "Your wins must be consecutive. Much like how you will be taking Numbers from others, others will seek to take Numbers from you."

The two nodded.

"I've been on a winning streak recently; I'm perfectly okay with continuing it." Zeke chuckled.

Caitlyn simply nodded.

"Well, if you two have no further questions or concerns I have work I'd like to finish up." He stated. He looked to Caitlyn and then to Zeke. Neither of them asked a question, so he stood up and walked towards his desk.

The two got up and headed back to the elevator and departed from the CEO's office.

"Happy hunting!" He called after them as the elevator doors closed.

With the elevator taking Zeke and Caitlyn away, Roy returned to looking out the window and over the city. The remaining ninety-seven cards were out there somewhere. He bit his lip. He was worried about sending those two to collect the cards in his place. As much as he wanted to fight his own battles though, he couldn't. He was getting up there in terms of age, and hunting down all the Numbers would take an enormous toll on him. So in the end, it would fall to them to finish what he started.

"Do you think I've made the right choice?" He asked aloud.

Silence.

He smiled and turned his head to the right. "Thank you."

* * *

No duels time. Just introducing the more of the characters. This chapter took a while because I had to make sure I had an idea of where each of these characters were going to progress as the story went on. Also I was kinda busy. But mostly the former. Either way, I enjoyed writing it.

Have a nice day~


End file.
